TVBC Women | Sara Burt

A New Year: Thrive 1/8

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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

It wasn’t until the very beginning of 2016 that I opened up my life to Christ. My marriage was falling apart and I was lost. I made some very big mistakes, (some that nearly tore my whole family apart) but God worked through my mistakes to bring my husband and I both closer to Him.

Through God, I have been granted a second chance.

In February, My husband and I chose to be baptized together at Taylor’s Valley! We began a new life together, placing God in the center and focusing on Him and using His Word to guide us. We have never been stronger or happier, and we have begun to see a huge change in our children, too. It’s amazing to look back over this past year and see just how much leading a godly-centered life has changed us. We have lost every friendship we had before being baptized, but have gained an entirely new family and circle of friends that are dear to our hearts.

We ended up going to a Christian marriage counselor to work through our problems and learn how to communicate again. I am so glad things didn’t end in divorce. God has spoken to both of us and He has shown us an entirely new path to walk. Watching my husband go from being an agnostic to a devout Christian man who prays and studies God’s Word, has been an amazing transition. We are happier, healthier, stronger, and still learning. So much has changed in these last 11 months! I can’t wait to see what is in store for 2017.

Amber Schaaf

A New Year: Thrive 1/7

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Two years after my husband passed away from cancer, I was still grieving . I had known the comfort of the Lord and of family and friends, but that ache cast a pall over everything. It sapped my strength and I felt I was functioning on autopilot. I was living and working in West Africa with people I loved. I loved my job. My son was a soldier in Iraq and my high school daughter was with me. So I had plenty material for prayer.

One morning during my prayer time, I was reading Psalm 84 when the Lord opened my eyes with His truth about my situation. I read verses 1-4:

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!

My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah

That was it! I so desperately needed the Living God! I imagined myself as that little sparrow nestling up near the altar. I thought, “If I could just stay here and never have to move, I would have everything I need!” But then, I read on.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion

What? Did I really have to get up and continue the journey? Then I realized I had been in a valley. In fact, the word for valley, Baca, means “tears.” Truly, I had been in a valley of tears. The Lord was saying to me that He would be my strength, that He would make something good come from this valley of tears. He would make it a place of springs (life-giving water). He would give me strength after strength till I see Him face to face.

Alice Statler

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A New Year: Thrive 1/6

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It’s a God thing!

I have heard this said many times and experienced it in my own life many times. My explanation of this is there is no other explanation. Last summer we were babysitting two of our small great-grandsons. We have a swimming pool in our backyard and Ty (two years old) loved swimming with all of us, but always wore his life jacket. This particular day my husband and son were on the patio putting together a barbeque pit, and Ty was sitting in his little chair watching them. My daughter-in-law and I were inside with his younger brother.

I knew Ty was in good hands. My husband is always overly cautious when it comes to kids and the pool so there was no reason for me to be concerned.

All of a sudden, I had a sudden urge to ask about Ty’s whereabouts.

“Can you see Ty?” I asked my daughter-in-law. She immediately jumped up and ran out the back door and saw he wasn’t sitting in his chair! “Where is Ty?” she screamed while running toward the pool.

There he was – face down in the pool. My daughter-in-law jumped in the pool, grabbed him, and handed him to my husband who had jumped in with her. Ty immediately began crying! He was scared, but other than that, he was perfectly okay. Just one more minute and…

We were all hugging him, crying, and thanking God for His mercy and perfect timing. I am so thankful for a loving God who speaks to us even when we are unaware of our need.

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1

Ann Wilson

A New Year: Thrive 1/5

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God’s Blessing of Friendship

A friend loveth at all times.

Proverbs 17:17 (KJV)

As 2016 is ending and 2017 beginning, I find myself thinking about friends. With social media so much a part of people’s lives, we sometimes forget to pick up the phone and call someone or even send a note of thanks or thinking of you.

Many of us have lifelong friends since childhood, college friends, and professionals we work with. Furthermore, we have neighbors. In today’s society we sometimes do not even know who lives in our neighborhood. Fortunately when our family moved to Temple, we found a wonderful neighborhood with one very special lady who lived next door to us—Beth Sheffield. She always had a smile for everyone, never met a stranger, and would go out of her way to help others. She exemplified how God wants us to treat one another.

As 2017 approaches, I hope I can be the friend to others as Beth was to me. Thirty-two years filled with precious memories of our times together encourage me to pay friendship forward. I encourage each of you to think about how you can be Christ’s example to others with kindness, love, encouragement, and time. Will you choose to be a Christ-like friend in 2017?

Dianne Arwood

A New Year: Thrive 1/4

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Making Plans

We spend much time planning for tomorrow. We plan trips, set goals, and strive to “reach the mark.” Planning discussions are rampant and an integral part of our professional and personal daily lives. Yet without goals and dreams, we would wander aimlessly in both arenas of life.

James, the half-brother of Jesus tells us not to boast about tomorrow when he says:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

(James 4:13-14) NKJV

Because of the context around the verse and in other scriptures, I do not think he is telling us not to make plans. James and other biblical authors urge us to acknowledge God’s role in our planning and understand His plans for us are far greater. His plans supersede any we may have for ourselves.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

(Jeremiah 29:11-13) NKJV

Where is God in your planning? Do you seek His Divine Wisdom as you make your plans? Are your plans aligned with His plans for your life?

Marilyn Hoeth

A New Year: Thrive 1/3

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Heritage of Faithfulness

The beginning of each New Year is a chance to look back over the past year and reminisce. For me it is a great time to look back and remember how you arrived at the place you are today. One of my favorite scripture passages is found in the book of Hebrews, Chapter 11. Hebrews 11 is sometimes called the Faithfulness Hall of Fame. The chapter is filled with stories about men and women who were faithful to God’s calling: Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, David and many others are included. When I read Hebrews 11 I can’t help but marvel at the rich heritage of faithfulness we all come from. Furthermore, my lineage of faithfulness continues from the 1^st Century Church all the way to my parents who introduced me to Christ. The stories of many of those generations are not recorded anywhere and those that were, lost. However, faithfulness must have continued in order to bring me where I am now.

My mother spent many weekends at the Treadway family farm, and there a strong love for Jesus was instilled in her by my great-grandmother, Granny Treadway. When my mother grew up she took over where Granny left off and poured her love for Christ into my sisters and me. All of my childhood memories of Granny are of an old fragile woman whose mind was broken by Alzheimer, but as an adult I have come to know her as a pillar of my faith.

On my other familial side, my father is a first generation believer. As a teenager, his sister decided to go to church and take her little brother with her. There, he met Jesus. As an adult he was intentional and diligent in ensuring his children grew up in church together as a family. He found older men to mentor him in godly living and child rearing. As a child, I did not always appreciate his godly discipline, but now I know he was building a foundation for me that would stand forever.

So that is my heritage of faithfulness passed down from men and women who loved God, beginning with Noah and Abraham to my parents. Now, after you read chapter 11 in Hebrews, you have to continue and read Hebrews 12:1 which says,

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

Therefore, since Abraham, Moses, John, Paul and many unnamed others passed down their faith, I should too.

Therefore, since a grandmother in the 60’s and 70’s poured her love for Christ into a little girl, I too should pour my love of Christ into others.

Therefore, since a man chose to change forever the destiny of his family by following Jesus and teaching his children to do the same, I should too.

That is my legacy and those are my witnesses to follow. I know each of you have your own marvelous stories of faithfulness in your lives. I challenge you at the beginning of this New Year to recall your heritage of faithfulness. Then go run your race so you can take your place in the next generation’s great cloud of witnesses.

Dannyelle Turner

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A New Year: Thrive 1/2

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Fear and Hope

As we begin another New Year, many uncertainties tend to cross our minds. Some can even cause great concern and fear of what is to come. Let us go to God’s Word for some encouraging words. First, what does Job have to say? He certainly faced many hard times.

“But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause, who does great things, and unsearchable, marvelous things without number.”

“He sets on high those who are lovely, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.”

“But He saves the needy from the sword of their mouth and from the hand of the mighty, so the poor have hope, and injustice shut her mouth.”

(Job 5:8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16 ESV)

Isaiah also had encouraging words appropriate for the New Year.

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

(Isaiah 40:31 ESV).

May the New Year fill you with God’s hope and blessings and may you “mount up like an eagle.”

Kathleen Holland

A New Year: Thrive 1/1

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We all have a story and your story matters. Your story tells the history of your journey with Christ and speaks to the beauty of humanity. We engage in sharing our stories because our stories connect us. As the New Year begins, we want to be women who embrace new beginnings. We serve a God of second chances, and what better opportunity than the New Year to encourage one another to risk hoping for a new beginning!

Through the years, God has taught the women at Taylor’s Valley Baptist Church immeasurable truths about Himself and how our connections matter. Our connections often provide the fuel for vulnerability, a trait necessary for new starts. Over the next 31 days you will meet 31 different women sharing 31 different stories. Our hope is that by sharing our stories, we will show God’s faithfulness in our everyday lives and encourage you to look for God in all the new beginnings of a new year. Get ready to belly laugh, shed a few tears (grab a tissue), and prepare your heart for God to speak through, “A New Year: Thrive.”

Second Chances

“I called to the LORD in my distress, and He answered me.” (Jonah 2:2).

When was the last time you felt the Holy Spirit nudging you a particular direction and your first instinct was to flee? If whatever the task before me requires battling insecurities, my flesh begs me to forgo the fight and just flee.

A few years ago I was asked to serve in a capacity I had only dreamed about in my home church. Almost as quickly as the excitement built at the thought of using my gifts and talents in this area, an equal amount of apprehension overwhelmed my spirit. I reflected on my previous track record with similar tasks. Isn’t that how we evaluate potentially new tasks, through considering and analyzing what we have been able to accomplish in the past?

Despite reciting scriptures encouraging me to trust God’s promise to enable and empower me to complete the task ahead, I stalled and filibustered when pressed to confirm. I was hesitating to step into leadership though I knew God was calling me to that specific purpose.

As God would have it, the next few weeks’ worth of sermons covered the book of Jonah. Though I was familiar with his story, Jonah’s experiences with second chances washed over me in a fresh and powerful way. Jonah flat out refused to obey God’s command to preach to the Ninevites. God could have used another prophet to preach His message of coming judgment, but He loved Jonah enough to punish him, leading Jonah to repentance.

Our God gives second chances. He delights in our steps toward the right direction. Furthermore, when He calls us to a task, He will empower us. Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose.” This verse speaks truth in the face of apprehension. Not only does God work in me to accomplish the task, He also enables me to desire to complete it.

So if God is calling you to a specific role, task, or purpose, and you are hesitating to obey, know God delights in your steps toward His calling. Know He will birth the desire to complete it, and above all, He will work it through you for His good purpose and glory.

Love,

Sara Burt, Director of TVBC Women’s Ministry: Thrive